Difference Between Communism and Capitalism

Capitalism and communism are different in their political and economic ideologies. Capitalism and Communism never go together.

One of the major differences between capitalism and communism is with regard to the resources or the means of production.

In Communism, the community or society solely owns the resources or the means of production. On the other hand, in capitalism, the resources or the means of production lies with a private owner.

While the profit of any enterprise is equally shared by all the people in communism, the profit in a capitalist structure belong to the private owner only. While the private party controls the resources in capitalism, it is the society that controls the whole means of production in communism.

For Communists, the society is above individuals. But for capitalists, individual freedom is above the state or society. While capitalism is a self regulated economic system, communism is a government run economy. In capitalism, the individual has full control over production and decides on the price structure. Contrary to this, it is the society or the government that determines the price structure in communism.

Communism stands for equal sharing of work, according to the benefits and ability. But in capitalism, an individual is responsible for his works and if he wants to raise the ladder, he has to work hard.

Moreover, communism stands for a class less society, which doesn’t see any difference between the rich and the poor. On the other hand, capitalism divides the society into rich and poor. Capitalism can be said to be the exploitation of the individual. While every one is equal in communism, there is a great divide of the class in capitalism.

Summary
1.In Communism, the community or society solely owns the resources or the means of production. On the other hand, in capitalism, the resources or the means of production lies with a private owner.
2. While the profit of any enterprise is equally shared by all the people in communism, the profit in a capitalist structure belong to the private owner only.
3.While the private party controls the resources in capitalism, it is the society that controls the whole means of production in communism.
4. For Communists, the society is above individuals. But for capitalists, individual freedom is above the state or society.
5.While Communism stands for abolishing private property, Capitalism stands for private property.

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109 Comments

The term “capitalism” was invented by communists to describe the system that existed (and exists). Communism is an idea of how society can operate, where workers democratically decide what to make, and how much to make, and how much of the produced goods people are entitled to take.

So it’s difficult to contrast the ideas: one is a description of what exists, and the other is an idea of what might become.

The ideology of capitalism used to be called liberalism, and today is called neoliberalism. It’s also been called classical economics or laissez faire. The fundamental ideal is that the state not be involved in business, and that the state not really be involved in very much at all.

Like communism, laissez faire is a an idea of how society can operate. It doesn’t actually exist, and hasn’t ever existed — the state has always been involved in the economy, and has generally been the largest investor in any state’s economy.

After reading this it is clear to me that communism is far superior to capatalism but as more people have said in the comments it looks good on paper but dosn’t actually work to well. I would like to learn more about it however as I want to know why most countries aren’t establish as communists

Most countries aren’t established communists because it has never worked out in the past. They all end up changing their political views or realizing after 80 years of communist dictatorship with causualty rates that put the holocost to shame and trillions of dollars in debt, “oh we messed up! Oopsie poopsie!”

I’d argue this is because it is really hard to convert to a communist system.
It is especially hard if you convert to it without having the solid base of a working country and economy, as has often been the case with attempts at communism.

Russia is the prime example of this, the most backwards country of Europe at the time of the October revolution. There was very little industrialization. Most people were illiterate, and most people were peasants.

It should be obvious that it is incredibly hard to undertake such a political project with a base like this. Yet in the case of Russia, quite some success was achieved, unfortunately at the cost of many lives.

Most communist revolutions have become authoritarian dictatorships which murder millions of people in the process of trying to convert to communism. A lot of people who say they hate communism, don’t actually hate communism, but hate the totalitarian practices that have come from these dictatorships.

You see, communist society as Karl Marx envisioned it is not totalitarian nor authoritarian, quite the opposite in fact.

Karl Marx envisioned communist revolutions to happen in first world western countries, not backwards third or second world countries.

Personally I believe that if proper democracy is retained, a lot of the unnecessary atrocities can be prevented.

Ofcourse there also critics who argue about the matter of communist ideology itself, but I’m not gonna get into those in this comment.

As a final note, the so called “failing” of many communist countries comes from a complex array of issues, often relating to international pressures and flaws in the specific implementation of socialism, most of which are not inherent to socialism nor communism. Communists and socialists should learn from these issues as not to repeat them.

Why is it then, that every country that calls itself communist, is in fact a dictatorship? The USSR under Stalin et.al, the so-called People’s Republic of China under Mao Tse-tung and his successors, North Korea under Kim Il-sung and his son, Cuba under Castro, etc. were/are all, in fact, dictatorships. Would not that suggest that there is something inherent to communism that makes it a dictatorship?
Further, while the means of production are to be owned and operated by the people or society as a whole, in practice that means government control and administration in the form of highly centralized government economic planning and implementation of said five and ten year plans. And, of course, dissension about this control leads to political repression through the use of secret political police and terror forces.
All this leads to the, for some, unpleasant conclusion, that communism as practiced, and indeed, as theorized, is synonomous with dictatorship.

It happened that the rulers of the communist countries were dictators. That does not mean that communism always results in oppression and dictatorship. There were also anti-communist capitalist countries which were also run by dictators such as Apartheid South Africa. It seems that the communist countries were in the era of dictators since nearly every country in the world of that time was run by dictators and the people were in some way or another oppressed.

Actually yes by it’s very nature it does. Since everything is controlled by the government, There is no individual property, no individual freedom, no individual liberty and no individual right. The state has absolute power of every aspect of everything. When the state has the authority to tell everyone what they are allowed to eat and wear. Where they are allowed to live and work. When no one is secure in their own homes and property what you have is a dictatorship.

Freedom is the ability to choose for yourself. It is the ability to do a honest days work for an honest days pay. To know that the fruits of your labor are yours and no one has the right to take that from you. Freedom is the ability to be secure in your person, your home and your possessions with out fear of the government arbitrarily taking anything from you because everything really belongs to the state.

Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Given that the basis of communism is absolute power in the hands of the state. In practice communist governments are always absolutely corrupt dictatorships where those in political power live lives of luxury while everyone else lives in poverty.

– That there is no individual (personal) property, there will be no private property, but personal property will still exist. Private property are things like companies and factories, personal property are things like your house, your car, your computer, your clothes, and of course your toothbrush.

– That there is no individual freedom, quite the opposite.

– That there is no individual right.

– That the state has absolute power of every aspect of everything.

– That the basis of communism is absolute power in the hands of the state.

These things might have been part of so called “communist” states, but are NOT a part of communism! Just like a ban on Holocaust denial exists in modern day *capitalist* Germany, yet noone would call that inherent to, or a part of, capitalism.

You may also want to consider that dictatorship is not synonymous with Communism because there have been far-left leaders aka Fascists like Hitler that have also been dictators so to say one is a communist because they are a dictator would not be a true synonymous relationship between the two words. However, there are a lot of similarities in communist countries as far as the rise to power of their leader and how they maintained power and kept the economy going.

communism means dictatorship . communism suggests that all the sources should be managed by the government and the government should share it between the people but the government does it in a very prejudice way !

If that’s what you truly think what communism is, than why not create a new type of communism. Call it, Demo-Communism, Communism + Democracy. I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. The new governments is the people.

1 The real difference between communism and capitalism. Communism looks good on paper, but does not work in the real world. Capitalism looks bad on paper but it actually works in the real world.

2 Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power will corrupt absolutely. Any form of government that places absolute power in the hands of those in political power will become absolutely corrupt.

3 Capitalism is the only system that has raised anyone out of poverty and improved life for the common man. If you look at many of the so called titains of American industry in the late 1800’s over three quarters of them were born into poverty.

Communism is mainly related to dictatorship because an actual government of complete communism is impossible. Someone would have to be in charge, which HAS to be a dictator because communism’s main idea is that everyone is equal. With no one in charge, and everyone on an equal level, the country would not get anywhere.

goodness gracious im in tenth grade and ive never even started on this at all like all we learn is america is good capitalism is good god bless america… the only reason im even on this site is because i got curious all by myself and had to google it to find anything about communism… like i wouldn’t even hear the word communism if it weren’t for my curiosity and (believe it or not) rap music???

In response to Andrew Szyposzynski’s comment about so-called “communist states”…

Communism is specifically a stateless, classless society in which all are equal (note: equal opportunity, not forced ‘equality’ of the slave camp) where the land and means of production are under the collective ownership of all and the exchange of goods is done via a gift economy under the principle of ‘from each according to his ability to each according to his need’, i.e. you do what you can and take what you need (including necessities for well-being) with no direct payment.

I would say there is nothing inherent in communist thought itself that results in oppression but how people try to achieve it i.e. through authoritarian means.

The supposed communist states were not communist, if i recall none have claimed to be communist but to be on the “transition to communism”. There are basically two forms of communists, there are the authoritarians such as the followers of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao etc. They believe that a group of people supposedly representing the working class must seize state apparatus under the notion of a “dictatorship of the proletariat” (which always results in a dictatorship over the proletariat i.e. working class) and bring about communism in which the state will eventually ‘wither away’. As history has shown (and as Mikhail Bakunin mentioned before the Russian revolution) it results in immense oppression as the Party which seized state power is also the direct economic masters, i.e. capitalists. A more accurate name for it (and this really annoys the advocates too which i think is just funny) is ‘state monopoly capitalism’ as the same social relationships within capitalism exist.

The other prominant form of communists are the libertarians or in otherwords the anarchist communists (anarchist from the word ‘anarchy’ – literally the absense of masters) Anarchist communists, while holding communism as an ideal, believe that no one can be trusted with power and that even if members of the working class seized state power they would form a new dominant class and dominate and exploit the working class. Anarchist communists believe that the only way to achieve communism is through the reorganisation of society from the bottom up along the principles of freedom, equality and solidarity. Contrary to the authoritarians, the anarchists know that you cannot bring about freedom and equality through inequality and oppression.

The organisational principles of the anarchist communists is based on keeping power with the people through decentralisation and directly democratic procedures, basically a community discusses issues face to face and comes to decisions. If things need to be coordinated or decided on a larger scale then they have a mandated, recallable, rotating delegate to discuss it with delegates of other communities but any decision the delegates reach must be decided by the community which the delegates are apart of and come from.

Communism was responsible for over 100,000,000 premature deaths (i.e. murder, starvation) in the last century. Communist states naturally breed dictators because that is the dirty secret of communism. It seeks equality for all, except for the few elite at the top. That’s why communism is evil and destined to fail. Mankind’s natural state is not satisfied with the mere requirements for existance. Man naturally seeks to thrive, not exist. Since men seek to thrive with different levels of furvor and different levels of ability, there will always be different levels of result. To force this natural tendency out of man is cruel, evil and unnatural.

Communism would work if you would just shut up and do what I tell you.

I am no supporter of Communism, but Capitalism(and I mean pure Capitalism) is just as evil, as it leads to rich corporations controlling the government through bribes. Only the very rich thrive, and those less fortunate receive no aid, so if the market crashes, the poor are left to die. A fair mix between the two is the best way for a government to function.

aka america the great. literally. (ignoring the social sercurity system because its basic crap anyway and wow the postal service really helps every poverty stricken family in need at 45 cents a stamp!)

One big thing to remember is that in the Communist Manifesto, it makes the assumption that everyone is inherently good and wants to improve humanity. Capitalism on the other hand operates under the assumption that we work for ourselves. On paper, communism may seem like the better system, but in practice, not everyone is inherently good and it is often far more likely to find selfish people because that is what evolution have made us (Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest). Capitalism may at times seem to be a bad system, but in reality it is one that works because everyone is motivated to put themselves in an advantageous position over another by working harder and earning more money. China is supposedly communist, but if you look at its economic system, it seems to resemble capitalism a lot more than communism because once China opened its special economic zones in 1978, the country pulled itself out of poverty. The other big communist country today is North Korea. North Korea is in a terrible shape with its dependance on the UN for aid (which comes from capitalist countries). And not everyone in capitalism is selfish, since some of the richest people in the world have donated their wealth to charities and other foundations.

In my house, I make sure my kids are ready for life in a capitalist world, being that we are Americans. I work and bring home the money, so I’m the CEO. Since they are lazy and haven’t taken it upon themselves to start their own business, they work for me. They have no education so they do menial tasks for little to no rewards and are expected to do these tasks whether they are sick or healthy. Workers that get sick are lazy and will never succeed in life, so they are not allowed rest. I am the sole beneficiary of all of their labor, although I give them the basic needs for their survival: bread, water, shelter.

During the summer and weekends, they are required to stay up at night cleaning or organizing and generally doing things that will make no difference in their lives or the household in general while I sleep comfy in my bed. I make them work in the cold or the heat and don’t offer breaks as this may be their future unless they become entrepreneurs themselves. They are to work most waking hours as this will give them very little time or energy to try to get an education to better themselves. This also keeps them from seeing friends or family and giving them any sense of hope. The jobs I give them become their life, there is nothing else. If they complain that I am being unfair, I tell them they can live on the street, it’s as simple as that. I won’t put up with a disobedient worker. I tell them if they work hard, they will succeed so they double their efforts to please me, but I don’t give them any more than I already give them, it’s simply a “carrot” I dangle in front of them so they don’t become suicidal. The last thing I need is to have a worker die on me. I have to spend time and money “creating” another one. Although there is the hefty insurance policies I keep on them for just this scenario. In the end it’s just a bother having to train another worker.

I feel that this is the best I can do for my kids so that they aren’t surprised when they go into the real world and realize we’re not one of the 1% and they will basically be enslaved by the great capitalism machine that doesn’t see you as a human being, but rather cattle to feed the greedy.

The internet is a great resource. You can find a lot of sources on the poverty rate, median incomes, etc., for different countries. If capitalism only benefits the 1%, why is the 99% in capitalist countries richer than the 99% in communist countries? Why is it always the governing class in a communist country who makes up the bourgeois 1%? Why is it communist countries that are supposed to be classless, but yet based more on class(Governing bourgeois and everyone else) than capitalist countries where we have what is called a socioeconomic status, which is positively correlated with age? Get a clue.

I think you need parenting social skills. I cool with teaching my children in real word situations but you treat your flesh and blood as objects for your own gain. Sounds like you have been abused and your are on a power trip to pass on the pain of your own past.

Capitalist pig.
Your system of doing things is far too intricate and decadent.
What’s worse is that they are Children.
You bloody Americans don’t have to work for anything! China does all the hard work for you, while you sit on your fat asses watching Reality TV. Leave things simple, yet effective.
Communism.

So China does everything? First compare how old China is and how old USA. Mmmmm let’s see, China thousands of years old and USA, let’s say not even close.

Immigrants built USA from nothing to a super power in few hundred years. Where was China 50 or hundred years ago. Picking their nose?

We made the best merchandise anywhere on the planet. Then WE GAVE IT to China and China ran with it. We did it to ourselves. Lol yes we Americans go to China for our education right? The Chinese would never come to USA and go to our Universities. Lol oh Russians perhaps, better North Korea. Yes, we Americans learn from communist countries lol. You and people who think they know facts. All of it is hot air, a 10 year old now can teach you what I just stated. Lol are you from a Communist country. Hope so, we Capitalist Americans still run the show and always will!!!

Communism deprives the hard working man of his fortune and his legacy.
Communism is just another tool the jews use to try and take over the world. The creator was a jew, the people who actively partook in the russian revolution were mostly, primarily jews. New York jews even helped them out.
Socialist and communist jews were behind the civil rights movement and were just using the minorities as pawns to disestablish the system and cause havoc.
The communists in hollywood were mostly jews, yet there were crys of ‘anti semitism’. How could it be ‘anti semitism’ when the majority of communist were jews.
And don’t say that they weren’t jews, they were atheists. They probably had no religious belief, but the jew isn’t a religion, once you have jew blood running through your veins, you’re a jew. You could belong to any religion in the world or the universe, you’re still a jew.
There’s no running away from the fact that communism and socialism are jewish tools and the members are mostly jewish.

Capitalism Sucks is a book about the evils of – you guessed it – capitalism. Capitalism is responsible for endless misery across the world in the form of mass unemployment, endless wars, and the unfair distribution of wealth between the workers and the super-rich. In addition, capitalism perpetrates racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and homophobia.

Capitalism Sucks can also be read for FREE on my blog Capitalism Sucks: http://capitalismsucks.blog.com
Simply scroll down to page 3 of my blog Capitalism Sucks and begin reading the entry entitled “Capitalism Sucks, or How I Became a Communist Sympathizer.” All the entries after that are from the book Capitalism Sucks.

I have been familiar with evils of capitalism from the time that I was a child. I was born and raised on the South side of Chicago, in a neighborhood completely surrounded by inner-city poverty. Later, I worked on commercial fishing boats in Alaska, and also as a longshoreman in the port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Ever seen The Most Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel? It takes place in and around Dutch Harbor. I’ve also traveled to over 50 countries, and seen firsthand the poverty and endless suffering that capitalism has caused around the world.

Anyway, have a great day! And please tell others about my book Capitalism Sucks. Or tell them about my blog or my YouTube channel where they can view Capitalism Sucks for free!

Who is Wolf Larsen?
Wolf Larsen is a novelist, playwright, and poet who has traveled through over 50 countries. Wolf has lived in Chicago, Wisconsin, New York City, Brazil, Peru, and India. He worked for nearly twelve years as a seasonal laborer in Alaska. Wolf has written over thirty works of literature, many of which are available at Amazon.com. His fiction and poetry has been published in literary magazines around the world. Capitalism Sucks is Wolf Larsen’s only work of nonfiction. Wolf Larsen ran for president in the 2012 elections as an independent candidate. His campaign slogan was: “choosing between the Democrats and Republicans is like choosing between AIDS and cancer!”

The problem with Communism is that it’s too easy for one person to take control. Everyone is supposedly equal, so when one person gets a little bit ahead (Stalin, Castro, Kim Jong-Il, Zedong), they assume complete control of the country. Theoretically, Communism would create a perfect society, but certain people (capitalists), always get ahead of the system and corrupt it, leaving the people starving and in poverty. It’s the sad truth. David was right.

“Communism was responsible for over 100,000,000 premature deaths (i.e. murder, starvation) in the last century. Communist states naturally breed dictators because that is the dirty secret of communism. It seeks equality for all, except for the few elite at the top. That’s why communism is evil and destined to fail. Mankind’s natural state is not satisfied with the mere requirements for existance. Man naturally seeks to thrive, not exist. Since men seek to thrive with different levels of furvor and different levels of ability, there will always be different levels of result. To force this natural tendency out of man is cruel, evil and unnatural.

Communism would work if you would just shut up and do what I tell you.”

Dears, communism must have its place, the books,
and stay there. Wishing an equal world
is same wishing an ocean without any wave, a sky
without any cloud, a mountain without any wind…
The theory is valid, if, only, and only lonely, is used
to help those who suffers to understand capitalism,
and the holy individual free will.
Without “me” there is no “us”, so individualism
must always come upfront. Later is all about
Ethics. Answering a point above that’s why
Communism can only be implemented thru
Dictatorship… Because is bunch of idiots,
Deceiving ordinary works, controlling the resources
As a minority in the name of society.
Bull crap loaded… Communism is succks and
Stupidity revealed at the best for those who attempt
To practice and to stand for it.
Sorry.

Communism is a fatally flawed plan. The Soviet Union collapsed under that system and the reason is simple. Communism undermines the incentive to work, invent, & succeed because communism steals all of the benefits you work for and gives them to everyone else in the country who were too lazy / dumb / unmotivated to do anything worthwhile. Soon all of the people foolishly rely on “someone else” to do the work but no one does because everyone else is relying on “someone else” as well. Thus extreme poverty results; and complete slavery to the “beneficial” leader (dictator) who forces people to work without personal reward for that effort. Communism is counter to human nature.

I think Pure Communism is the best regime but I think people in communism should be able to elect their own government. Russia, Old Eastern Europe, China, Cuba are socialist states but North Korea are a fascist state.

The poor who don’t have money simply have to work/produce to make money. If they sit around and wait for someone who works to share his earnings with them, yes they may die. Because no one wants to work for someone else who they don’t know and don’t approve of their lack of desire to contribute, produce and take care of themselves. That’s how pure capitalism works. But because there is no pure capitalism anywhere (it’s always a mix of capitslism and communism/socialism) poor people get along on social welfare – and don’t die… which is practically re-distribution of wealth.

By the way, if you think pure communism is the best why don’t you use your real name to sign your firm opinion with? Why are you an “Unnamed Man”?

Communism is a system that takes over all means of production,
Takes all the resources available, and only dictatorship
Or slavery system you may take freedom away
And their good will to produce something a bunch of stupid
Communist bureaucrats believe in their narrow desks size mind
What makes the whole world a better place.
Communist countries are run by a fat lazy government body like in any other system. The virtue of capitalism is that
It doesnt lie to its working class so badly like communists do.

I am south african and buzy with my law degree. I am a decendant of the first peoples of southern africa (khoi san). The khoi san are stil hunter gatherers at this moment. Whenever some wild animal was hunted everyone in the community shares until there is nothing left and they do have a tribe leader that involces the whole tribe to partake in decision making, so everything belongs to everyone in that community. Each man and woman live in one house (hut) so they only depend on the hunt and the gathering of food in the wild to survive. The point i am trying to make is that how can these peoples survive for thousands of years with out money, with a piece of goat skin on there body, no car, no electricity, no police, no jail, no cronic diseases and stil live in peace and harmony (which sounds alot like the communist idea) . So the west and the east are economic systems by phylosophers who had selfish and greedy ideologies that are being used by almost every country in da world today. Thats why no economic system ever thought of wil work becuase its not human nature to be greedy and selfish. #khoisan

Fair point. My thought however is that Economy is about managing limited resources in this planet and an economic system takes in considertation not only with what affects a single village in South Africa, which definetely raises good economic questions about its equilibrium with the rest of the system, but also the rest of the planet. I am Brazilian, and there are cases of Indian villages wipped out by simple disease after having contact with other indian villages which were exposed to a virus transmitted by a mosquito, It is a disease caused by virus, a virus is also developing itself, and do not choose a host to survive, it just kill, in order to fulfill its genetics and make death natural need of evolution. Human race survival struggle, is an ongoing process. Your villagers were not thinking in going to Mars, perhaps just enjoying bright stars in the night sky, which I like to do also as many others, but mankind is moving in that direction for survival reason.. If mankind will succeed and for how long is another story, just like that wipped out indian single village or like dinosaures. But again communism is an asphyxiante reality pushing same fate to all, good or bad. Capitalism on the other side is apparent pretty the same, however delegate mankind fate to an unarguably wealth: individual rights, individual duties, and individual freedom, to collectively decide its fate.
Do I make sense? It is my view…neutral but as everybody else, I try to get at the best I can, how we organise ourselves.

1966-1968 I Killed a lot of Commies for mommy before I could even vote. Didn’t help much as Calif; is full of em now. All I know for certain is a philosophical edict supporting a mine is mine and yours is mine ideology is green eggs without ham. peace!

Honestly, I believe that communism is better. I mean, if you think about it, Kim Jong Um is really great, he can be a really good person at times, so therefore communism is successful. If communism wasn’t good, then Korea would be destroyed by now! Capitalism is bad.

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Written by : Prabhat S.
and updated on May 19, 2011

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